Thunderbirds Go for Final West End Run, 11 Dec

Thunderbirds F.A.B., the cult stage show based on the popular children ‘s
television show of the 1960s, is returning to the West End for the sixth and
final time. It will play for a strictly limited four week run at the Aldwych
Theatre, dark since the 3 November closure of Mahler’s Conversion, from 11
December to 6 January.

Its original creators, Andrew Dawson and Gavin Robertson, once again
return to the roles of Captain Scarlet, Lady Penelope, Parker and others
from the International Rescue team of the cult sci-fi programme. The duo
created Thunderbirds F.A.B. in 1984, drawing on their childhood memories
of Gerry Anderson’s classic TV show, which ran for 32 episodes in England
between 1964 and 1966. The stage homage affectionately satirises the
programme with its space pods, fantastic machines, melodrama, clichés and
stilted puppet dialogue.

Thunderbirds F.A.B. was first seen in the West End at the Apollo Theatre in
September 1989. It was subsequently seen at the Ambassadors, back at the
Apollo and at the Playhouse Theatre last Christmas. It has also toured the
UK, and done three seasons in Japan.

– Mark Shenton